Saturday, December 2, 2017

Class war over: Rich win. Senate passes a Christmas tree tax-cut bill

YEE HAW: Sens. Corn and McConnell had plenty of reason to smile this morning.

The U.S. Senate early this morning voted 51-49 for a tax bill that will give huge tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy, increase the national deficit and bestow dozens of favors to special interests crammed into a bill passed without scant notice and without public review.

The 479-page bill came with numbers of favors for reluctant Republicans, some hand-written into the margins of the proposal shortly before the vote.

The bill still must go to conference for reconciliation with a House bill. It will be interesting to see if one particularly odious amendment, unexpectedly defeated by defection of four Republicans, will be put back in. This was a special exemption from a new tax on college endowments for the right-wing Hillsdale College, a major beneficiary of billionaire Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss.

The Washington Post notes that, as the bill evolved, it became more weighted in favor of the wealthy. It will actually increase taxes for many lower-income workers and by full implementation punish many in the middle class while awarding billions in tax breaks to the wealthy.

The bill also damages the Affordable Care Act and inevitably — though Republican tried to dispute it — mean reductions in Medicare and Medicaid spending. Some 13 million people are expected to lose health insurance coverage as a result of the bill.

Most media are depicting this in terms of victory for Donald Trump and the Republican Congress. It is more accurately depicted as a battering loss for working class Americans, the very people who supposedly powered Trump's victory.

Need I mention that Arkansas's senators cheered the outcome and voted for all the terrible amendments? Arkansas's House Republicans stand ready to do the same.

Both the Senate and House tax bills are costly new giveaways to the very wealthy and major corporations at the expense of working families, including tens of millions of low-income and middle-class Americans who actually would face a tax increase. In Arkansas, approximately half of the benefits of this tax cut will go to the top 5 percent of earners. By voting for this bill, Arkansas Senators Tom Cotton and John Boozman voted against the best interests of our children and hardworking families.

Make no mistake, these tax cuts will begin a domino effect that will debilitate programs our kids and families depend on for years to come.

Paul Spencer, a Democratic candidate for 2nd District Congresss hoping to unseat Plutocrat French Hill of Little Rock, said:

While most Americans were sleeping, the Republican-controlled Senate showed the American people just how far they are willing to go to obey their wealthy donors. At the expense of the people they are elected to represent, these Republican Senators have paved the way for a cascade of tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest members of our society. With the passage of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” the Republicans have utterly disregarded working and middle-class Americans, and have made clear their commitment to rigging the economy in the favor of a privileged few.

Many believe this vote will have election consequences in 2018. You'd think so. But we have evidence in the White House to discourage faith in facts and reason.

I can remember when Republicans said deficits matter. I can remember when they said legislation deserved ample consideration before votes. What we have here is the metaphorical equivalent of Donald Trump's pussy grabbing. When you're rich, you can grab whatever you want without fear of ill consequences.

Also criticism from Arkansas Communit Organizations — “The Senate tax plan that passed by a narrow margin last night will hurt working families in our state while giving millionaires like French Hill massive tax breaks” — and from 2nd District Democratic candidate Gwen Combs. She said: “The Senate’s egregious pre-dawn vote for tax “reform” - which will hurt the vast majority of Arkansans - is merely the latest example of how true statesmen have been replaced by power-hungry shysters who serve only one master: Money.”

More by Max Brantley

Gary Heathcott the long-time ad and PR man who now lives in San Antonio has sued CJRW, the major ad and PR firm, over its severing of a consulting deal with him last year and asks $1.3 million in actual damages plus unspecified punitive damages.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed numerous judicial ethics complaints against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh because the law exempts Supreme Court members, even for acts committed as a judge covered by the law. In short: Bart O'Kavanaugh is above the law.

Brett Rains of 40/29 is tweeting from the Capitol that the Department of Human Services is slowing its push for cuts in reimbursements for home health aides that critics have said could force many people into more expensive nursing home and force companies that provide the services out of business.

June 2018 is the expected publication date for a novel collaboration by former President Bill Clinton and crime writer James Patterson.

Matt Campbell, lawyer and Blue Hog Report blogger, has sent a Freedom of Information Act request to Jay Chessir, director of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Mark Stodola related to the publicity stunt yesterday built around withdrawing from the mayor's rash pronouncement that the city would seek an Amazon HQ2 project even though the city didn't meet the company's criteria.

Little Rock police have identified two women found dead of gunshot wounds in an SUV parked next to a vacant trailer in a mobile home park at 11500 Chicot Road.

Slideshows

Arkansas vs Ole Miss at War Memorial stadium in Little Rock, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. After leading for much of the game, Arkansas lost 37-33 when Ole Miss scored the game winning Touchdown with less that 2 minutes left.